🔗 Share this article

Originally found more than 150 years ago within a Pennsylvania drilling site, the modest tin of Vaseline could hardly be considered an clear candidate for online content feeds.

Yet the brand’s emergence as a popular subject on TikTok has placed it at the forefront of an marketing transformation, seeing big businesses allocating substantial funds to content creators and devoting less capital to advertising goods in conventional outlets.

From Oil Rigs to Online Hacks

First created commercially in the 1870s by chemist Robert Cheeseborough, who saw laborers using on their skin with a residue from oil extraction. Today, a spree of user-generated videos have chronicled its broad application in “life hacks”.

It has been touted as a remedy for cleaning shoes or making fragrance last longer, and also a remedy for squeaky doors. Users have even applied it to combat the nuisance of chip seasoning clinging to fingers.

Leveraging the Buzz

Spotting its digital renaissance, strategists within the corporation boosted the tips by asking their own scientists to test them and sharing the findings with influencers.

Suggestions that it lessened the sting of chili on the mouth were confirmed. This was also the case for ideas it could prolong perfume and revive leather bags. Claims that it would whiten teeth or extend lashes were disproven.

A Plan Built on ‘Social Listening’

Outdoor advertising and television commercials would once have dominated Unilever’s advertising drive. Yet this viral episode has helped convince executives to ramp up funding for content creators.

This tracking of digital spaces to guide corporate planning has been termed “social listening”. Fernando Fernández, recently appointed, has stated the intention is to spend a full fifty percent of its huge ad budget on social media content.

Shifting to Modern Engagement

A leading Unilever executive, who is spearheading the social media effort, said the company was merely adjusting to novel methods of connecting with customers. She said engaging on social media “without dampening the fun” was paramount.

“What is the key to genuine brand integration? That’s always what we’ve been trying to do as brands, since the era of community gossip and sharing usage tips.

“There’s this moving away from a one-to-many model, where we would just broadcast out … Now it’s many conversations, various groups. The evolution of platform algorithms means that these groups seem specialized, yet they are vast.

“If you can make sure your brand is shared by users, talked about by other people, this builds credibility and connection. Creators are critical to that. We are expanding this endorsement system.”

A Fundamental Consumption Turn

This plan mirrors seismic changes happening in audience habits, with Gen Z and millennial audiences allocating more attention to social media platforms than television, magazines or radio.

This change is evidenced by falling revenues for TV and print advertising. Within the United Kingdom, advertising income for major broadcasters have declined by over six hundred million pounds in inflation-adjusted terms since 2019.

The Rise of the Creator Economy

Additionally, it points to a media convergence as large companies almost become production houses themselves, linking up with hundreds of content creators to promote their goods.

An industry expert from a leading agency said: “Obviously there’s a flow of audiences from conventional channels and they’re spending a lot more time on social platforms like Instagram, TikTok and YouTube than they are viewing scheduled television or reading physical magazines.

“Many companies report to us people trust recommendations from the creators they engage with over traditional advertisements. That’s a consistent trend.”

He said brands could also save money by investing in creators over large-scale legacy ad buys, which also enables easier content adjustment to gauge performance.

This strategy is expanding. Marketing investment on influencer marketing is growing fourfold quicker than the media industry overall. Across the United States, it has more than doubled since 2021 and is expected to hit tens of billions in 2025.

TV's Lasting Role

Even with this transformation, industry figures said they believed television commercials still played a key part to play, as networks still held the capability to drive countrywide discourse.

Sykes said: “A top-tier ROI marketing event is still major broadcast spectacles. It’s not about those broadcasters saying: ‘Oh, we’re not relevant any more.’ It’s about who’s capturing attention … There is undoubtedly a future for traditional media.”